Trump Administration's AI Strategy: Deregulation, Innovation, and Private Sector Partnerships

Preamble

The United States’ AI policy has evolved from strategic guidance under Obama to minimal intervention under Trump and regulatory focus under Biden. The approach balances innovation, security, and civil rights:

1. Obama (2016): Launched the first AI strategic plan, emphasising diversity and federal guidance.

   
   

2. Trump (2017–2021): Initially deregulatory. In 2019, Executive Order 13859 initiated the American AI Initiative, prioritising leadership in AI standards, workforce, and security.

   
   

3. Biden (2021–Present): In 2022, the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights set five principles: safety, fairness, privacy, transparency, and human oversight. In 2023, an Executive Order added eight priorities, including security, competition, worker support, and global leadership.

   
   

Overview of the New AI Strategy

The second Trump administration unveiled an ambitious plan to strengthen the US' supremacy in AI by way of deregulation, cooperation with the private sector, and massive investments in infrastructure. The new approach seeks to accelerate innovation while rolling back the government's involvement in stark contrast with policy from the past.

Executive Actions and Policy Shifts

On January 23, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14179 entitled "Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence." This order ‘revokes certain existing AI policies deemed as obstacles to innovation’ and mandates the development of an action plan within 180 days to maintain U.S. dominance in AI. The plan focuses on promoting human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.

This is a departure from the previous administration's emphasis on worker displacement, AI transparency, privacy, and bias issues. The current administration aims to reduce government friction on innovation, making it easier for AI technologies to take hold.

Public-Private Partnerships and Infrastructure Investment

The cornerstone of the administration's AI strategy was the unveiling on January 21, 2025, of "Stargate LLC," a joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and investment firm MGX that aims to invest as much as $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the United States by 2029. The venture would build several data centres, first in Abilene, Texas, and then in other states and countries, such as Japan. The project is expected to create over 100,000 job opportunities in America. President Trump has insinuated that he will use executive orders to accelerate the creation of infrastructure for the project. Much of the infrastructure that President Trump will be accelerating usually entails energy infrastructure.

Engagement with Industrial Leaders

The administration has also actively reached out to industry leaders to ensure that its AI policies align with the needs of the private sector. For instance, President Trump met with Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, a leading company in the AI industry that provides advanced computer chips necessary for AI development, at the White House to discuss AI policy. Discussion during the meeting highlighted export restrictions and tariffs, for example, showing the administration's desire to strike a balance between national security concerns and the interests of American companies.

Regulatory Reforms and Deregulation

Meanwhile, signalling plans to repeal prior executive orders on AI perceived to be an infringement on innovation, the administration issued an executive order incorporating broad deregulatory themes. As critics of prior policies on AI have noted, such controls solidify the dominance of big tech at the expense of startups. Indeed, most expect this approach will encourage investment in the sector and limit regulatory burdens consistent with the administration's broader economic agenda in general.

Balancing Innovation and Safety

While the administration says it wants swift AI development, it must navigate how to protect safety and other ethical concerns.

The recent departure of Elizabeth Kelly, the first director of the U.S. AI Safety Institute, has called into question what's next for the institute. Kelly brokered agreements with AI startups to test their models before releasing them into the wild and worked with international AI safety groups. That leaves unclear how the administration intends to guide the institute on the thorny issues of AI safety and ethics going forward.

Conclusion

The approach of the Trump administration to AI is underpinned by a strong orientation toward deregulation, heavy collaboration with the private sector, and substantial investment in infrastructure.

It will entrench the status of the United States as a world leader in AI by breaking perceived barriers to innovation, and it will enable industry partnerships with leading ones. But such a strategy needs balancing so that the enthusiasm for rapid progress is tempered by concerns for safety, ethics, and shared prosperity so the benefits of AI are realised responsibly.

References and Further Reading

“AI, Blockchain, and Cryptocurrencies" (Wolters Kluwer)

"AI Policy Directions in the New Trump Administration" (Brookings)

"Executive Order 14179: Removing Barriers to American Leadership in AI" (AP News)

"Trump Administration's AI Strategy: Deregulation, Innovation, and Private Sector Partnerships" (Applied Policy)

"Trump's AI Policy and Its Regulatory Implications" (Gibson Dunn)

"Trump signs executive order on developing artificial intelligence ‘free from ideological bias’" (AP News)

"US AI Policy Under Trump: A Shift Towards Deregulation" (The American Action Forum)

"What Donald Trump's Win Means for AI" (Time Magazine)